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| Del. Prisons Have Medical Care Problems |
| By The News Journal |
| Published: 10/03/2005 |
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After four Delaware lawmakers called for independent investigations of medical care in the state's prisons, Department of Correction Commissioner Stan Taylor admitted there were problems and promised to cooperate with any inquiry. The Correction Department will work with lawmakers on reform legislation, Taylor said, such as a proposal made Wednesday by House Majority Leader Wayne A. Smith, R-Clair Manor, to establish, among other things, a health care inspector general and to begin screening inmates for hepatitis and HIV. A series of News Journal articles published last week, examining the state's AIDS-related inmate death rates -- the highest in the nation in 2001 and 2003; an inmate suicide rate in 2000 and 2001 that was twice the national average; reports of undiagnosed flesh-eating bacteria, poorly treated cancer, hepatitis, meningitis and pneumonia; and a no-bid $25.9 million contract awarded this year to St. Louis-based Correctional Medical Services to manage health care in the state's prisons. Outrage about the stories spread Thursday from Delaware's capital to community leaders. The Rev. Christopher Bullock of Wilmington's Canaan Baptist church said his congregation and other clergy plan to march outside the governor's mansion Monday, calling their protest the "March for Justice and Prison Reform in Delaware." Calling for investigations of prison medical care are Smith, Rep. Hazel D. Plant, D-Wilmington Central, Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington East, and Sen. Charles L. Copeland, R-West Farms. U.S. Attorney for Delaware Colm F. Connolly said he has forwarded allegations of inmate abuse to the U.S. Department of Justice to review. While not necessarily opposed to screening prisoners for HIV and hepatitis, standards would need to be developed for which prisoners should be screened. "Screening everyone makes no sense. [Taylor] tells me, for instance, they bring 12,000 people a year into Gander Hill and 12,000 people get released. A lot of those people are people who are being held until they make bail -- they might be there for a day or two. It doesn't make a lot of sense to screen them." Forming an independent committee to examine prison health care may be the smartest option, said Delaware Public Defender Larry Sullivan. He said the panel should include doctors and medical malpractice lawyers so the consequences of this kind of treatment are stated as strongly as possible in any report. Speaking to reporters last week, Taylor pointed out that, since 1986, the state has been certified by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. "Our health care is accredited and in compliance with national standards." During its six-month investigation of prison medical care, The News Journal submitted a Freedom of Information request to Taylor for the most recent audit report by the commission, which was completed in February. The request was refused. |
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